Boston College Law School and the International Association of Constitutional Law’s Research Group on Constitution-Making and Constitutional Change invite submissions for a full-day workshop on comparative constitutional amendment, to be held on the campus of Boston College Law School on Friday, May 15, 2015.

This workshop is convened by Xenophon Contiades (University of Peloponnese) and Richard Albert (Boston College).

Purpose of Workshop

The purpose of this workshop is to convene a group of scholars whose primary field of research is comparative constitutional amendment for a high-level discussion on enduring and emerging questions in the field. This full-day workshop will offer participants a balanced combination of rigorous scholarly discussion and more relaxed social interaction.

Structure of Workshop

This full-day workshop will feature seven (7) papers selected through this Call for Papers, with two (2) discussants assigned to each paper, for a total of twenty-one (21) participants. The day will begin at 9:00pm with welcome remarks over a continental breakfast. From 9:30am to 5:30pm, each of the seven (7) papers will be allocated one hour of time for group discussion. The two assigned discussants will critique the paper for 15 minutes each, followed by a 30 minute group discussion. The paper author will not present her/his paper but will have the opportunity to respond to questions. Lunch will be served from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Dinner is scheduled for 6:00pm. Boston College Law School will sponsor all meals.

Eligibility

Submissions are invited from scholars of all ranks, including doctoral students, whose primary field of research is comparative constitutional amendment, both formal and informal. Special consideration may be given to scholars affiliated with the International Association of Constitutional Law’s Research Group on Constitution-Making and Constitutional Change.

Submission Instructions

Interested scholars should email no more than one (1) paper by January 15, 2015 to the following address: judy.yi@bc.edu. There is neither a minimum nor a maximum length for papers but papers may not have been published by the time of the workshop. Preference will be given to papers that are still in development. Scholars should identify their submission with the following subject line: “IACL—Paper Submission—Comparative Constitutional Amendment Workshop.”

Scholars interested in serving as discussants may submit a brief statement of interest—no more than one paragraph is sufficient—along with a curriculum vitae to the same address by the same date. Prospective discussants should identify their submission with the following subject line: “IACL—Discussant—Comparative Constitutional Amendment Workshop.”

Notification and Participation Requirements

Successful applicants will be selected by a Workshop Selection Committee and notified no later than February 16, 2015.

Costs

There is no cost to participate in the workshop. Successful applicants are responsible for securing their own funding for travel, lodging and other incidental expenses. Boston College Law School will be pleased to sponsor all meals for participants.

Questions

Please direct inquiries in connection with this workshop to Professor Richard Albert (Boston College) by email at richard.albert@bc.edu or telephone at 617-552-3930.

Founded in 1929, Boston College Law School offers broad course offerings and small class sizes that permit considerable personal interaction with faculty. The international and comparative law curriculum provides opportunities for in-class instruction, innovative and flexible study-abroad programs, and meaningful training in the field. Boston College Law School understands that globalization magnifies the scope and complexity of law and legal practice. The curriculum trains students for the needs of today, while giving them skills and perspectives that anticipate the needs of tomorrow. The program prepares leaders to pursue social justice not just nationally, but internationally as well. For more, please visit: www.bc.edu/law.

About the IACL

The overriding objective of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL) is to provide a forum in which constitutionalists from all parts of the world can begin to understand each other’s systems, explain and reflect on their own, and engage in fruitful comparison, for a variety of purposes. The IACL Research Group for the study of constitution-making and constitutional change assembles constitutional scholars interested in the wide variety of issues stemming from constitutional design making throughout the world. The group aims to explore the procedures used for the enactment of new constitutions and for formal constitutional amendment, as well as the substantive content of constitutional change, and to address issues of constitutional design. For more, please visit: http://constitutional-change.com/about.

About the Convenors

Xenophon Contiades is Professor of Public Law, Dean of the School for Social and Political Sciences of the University of Peloponnese and Managing Director of the Centre for EuropeanConstitutional Law – Themistokles and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation. He is also the Convenor of the IACL Research Group on Constitution-Making and Constitutional Change and a member of the Scientific Council of the Dimitris Tsatsos Institute for European Constitutional Sciences (Hagen-Germany). His recent publications include: Constitutions in the Global Financial Crisis: A Comparative Analysis (Ashgate, 2013) and Engineering Constitutional Change: A Comparative Perspective on Europe, Canada and the USA (Routledge, 2012).

Richard Albert is a constitutional law professor at Boston College Law School, where he received the 2013 and 2014 Anthony P. Farley Award for excellence in teaching. His research focuses on comparative constitutional amendment. He is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law, an elected member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, a member of the Governing Council of the International Society of Public Law, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Journal of Constitutional Law, a founding editor of I-CONnect, and a former law clerk to the Chief Justice of Canada. He holds degrees from Yale, Oxford and Harvard.

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We welcome substantive submissions via email on any subject of comparative public law. Submissions usually, though not always, range from 750 to 1000 words. All submissions will be reviewed in a timely fashion.
Please send submissions to contact.iconnect@gmail.com.